Singer. He is best known for the popular songs "Moon River" and "The Days of Wine and Roses". Additionally, he is known for his Christmas television specials, his rendition of the holiday song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", and for hosting his own variety series from 1962 to 1971. His career began as a youth with his three brothers whom he performed with at their hometown Presbyterian Church. This led to regular appearances on local radio programs and this exposure would catch the attention of singer and actor Bing Crosby, resulting in the brothers' first recording "Swinging on a Star" (1944) with him. Later in the decade they formed a popular club act with comedienne Kay Thompson and with their success they made a name for themselves both nationally and internationally with tours in the United States and Europe. Following the acts disbanding in 1951, Williams moved to New York City, New York to embark on a solo career and landed a spot as a regular on "The Tonight Show, hosted by Steve Allen". Further appearances on other variety shows followed and in 1962, he earned his own musical variety series (he already hosted summer programs from 1958 to 1959) for which he received multiple Emmy Award nominations during the show's run. After a five-year period with the Cadence record label for which he scored the hits "Canadian Sunset" (1956), "Butterfly" (1957), "I Like Your Kind of Love" (1957), "Are You Sincere" (1958) and "Lonely Street" (1959), he secured a deal with Columbia. During that period, he became familiar to movie audiences with the songs "Moon River" (from Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961), "The Days of Wine and Roses", (from the film of the same title, 1962) and "Love Theme From The Godfather (Speak Softly Love)" (1972). He was formerly married to French actress Claudine Longet. (bio by: C.S.)